Frequently reported is the stat that only about half of the adults in the U.S. pay any Federal income taxes.

That’s the “revenue” side”.

Now, the WSJ reports that according to recent Census Bureau data, nearly half of the people in the U.S. live in a household that receives at least one government benefit, and many likely received more than one.

The 49.1% of the population in a household that gets benefits is up from 30% in the early 1980s and 44.4% as recently as the third quarter of 2008.

First, there are the senior citizens who anted into the pot during their working years:

16% of the population lives in a household where at least one member receives Social Security

15% receive or live with someone who gets Medicare.

Then, there are the poor:

26% had someone enrolled in Medicaid

15% of people lived in a household that received food stamps,

2% had a member receiving unemployment benefits.

Most interesting to me is the low percentage getting unemployment benefits … only about 25% of the unemployed.